WASHINGTON — Of the nearly 250,000 families requesting tickets to the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll only one in 50 got the chance to attend. But not winning the lottery didn’t stop a handful of people from heading down to the South Lawn in hopes of somehow getting in.
Children, parents and school groups streamed through the gates, tickets in hand as Lori Watzman wandered up and down, shouting for a chance to join them. “I live in D.C. and honestly, I’d just never been,” she said. “I don’t even have a kid with me, I’m trying to get a ticket for me and my friend.”
Watzman came to the White House on a whim. She decided it was time to see the action up close. And after more than an hour of shouting and wandering, she had two tickets.
As the morning entry groups were closing and the entry lines were full, Jayne Christensen of Florida was still searching. She and her son continued to hold out hope that someone generous would come along. I’ll be upset if we don’t get in,” she said. “But there’s always the cherry blossoms.”